From Library Journal
In this guide, gardening writer Joyce focuses on the use of topiaries and other ornamentally trained plants as garden design elements. In addition to aesthetic recommendations, the book offers technical information such as step-by-step illustrations for creating plant sculptures and landscape plans. Although this title--previously published in a U.K. edition--has been adapted to appeal to a North American audience (for example, the appendix includes lists of plant and tool sources in the United States and Canada), all but one of the photographs feature topiaries, hedges, and standards in European gardens. This bias is regrettable, given the notable tradition of ornamental pruning as practiced at Pennsylvania's Longwood Gardens and other public gardens in North America. Recommended for large horticultural collections as an optional supplement to more practical works, such as Joyce's Complete Guide to Pruning and Training Plants (S. & S., 1992. o.p.).
-Brian Lym, City Coll. Lib. of San Francisco
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
-Brian Lym, City Coll. Lib. of San Francisco
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Shaping plants can entail simple methods, such as guiding a flowering vine so that it covers an arbor or neatly clipping a hedge into a rectangle. The highest form of topiary art encompasses shapes that are more difficult to achieve. Joyce explains the technical steps necessary to achieve an array of plant forms that will function in the garden as living sculptures. From trees grown in cone shapes to ornamental tiered standards and remarkably complex animal forms, the stunning photographs reveal captivating examples of topiaries displayed in splendid garden settings. Joyce's handbook offers an instructive tour that will surely fire up the imagination of keen gardeners. A directory of recommended plants and suppliers is included. Alice Joyce
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
